In Wal-Mart We Trust

National Post (via Mark Levin) ^ | Friday, March 28, 2008 | Colby Cosh

[Baynative]

Who did the most to help victims of Hurricane Katrina? According to a new study, it was the company everyone loves to hate.

[Baynative]

Shortly before Hurricane Katrina made landfall on the U.S. Gulf Coast on the morning of Aug. 29, 2005, the chief executive officer of Wal-Mart, Lee Scott, gathered his subordinates and ordered a memorandum sent to every single regional and store manager in the imperiled area. His words were not especially exalted, but they ought to be mounted and framed on the wall of every chain retailer -- and remembered as American business's answer to the pre-battle oratory of George S. Patton

"A lot of you are going to have to make decisions above your level," was Scott's message to his people. "Make the best decision that you can with the information that's available to you at the time, and above all, do the right thing."

Meanwhile, Wal-Mart trucks pre-loaded with emergency supplies at regional depots were among the first on the scene wherever refugees were being gathered by officialdom. Their main challenge, in many cases, was running a gauntlet of FEMA officials who didn't want to let them through. As the president of the brutalized Jefferson Parish put it in a Sept. 4 Meet the Press interview, speaking at the height of nationwide despair over FEMA's confused response: "If [the U.S.] government would have responded like Wal-Mart has responded, we wouldn't be in this crisis."

[Bernard]

As the president of the brutalized Jefferson Parish put it in a Sept. 4 Meet the Press interview, speaking at the height of nationwide despair over FEMA's confused response: "If [the U.S.] government would have responded like Wal-Mart has responded, we wouldn't be in this crisis."

"Make the best decision that you can with the information that's available to you at the time, and above all, do the right thing."

Maybe if government employees were given the same instructions that Wal-Mart gave its employees, and acted that way, the government would work better. Just a thought.

[TomGuy]

Incredible Vision at Wal-Mart

03/29/2008 8:44:19 AM CDT · by Congressman Billybob · 31 replies · 949+ views Special to FreeRepublic ^ | 28 March 2008 | John Armor (Congressman Billybob) I’m grateful to an article in the National Post on Friday, 28 March, by Colby Cost for bringing this item to my attention. It is about Wal-Mart, but has nothing to do with the legendary business model of that company. Or, does it? As the article recites, shortly before Hurricane Katrina hit New Orleans on 29 August 2005, Lee Scott, CEO of Wal-Mart, send a memorandum to all the regional and store managers in the region about to be hit. His message said: “A lot of you are going to have to make decisions above your level. Make the best...

[Baynative]

That thread didn't come up during my search - probably due to the title differences.

I just heard the reading of this by Mark Levin while I was listening to his show archives for the week.

It is just another example, I think, of how stifling our government and it's bureaucracies have become.

We need to get our archaic departments out of the way and take some lessons from Wal-Mart, Amazon, FedEx, Ebay, etc...

How about replacing the IRS with a flat tax handled by PayPal?

BETTER YET- how about never discussing government managed health care again?

[SunkenCiv]

I read an article about this not long after Katrina hit. The meteorologist Wal-Mart employs predicted the path of the storm would change again and hit N’orleans. Not only did Wal-Mart start moving freight, it handed out ammo to the cops. :’) Also, unlike Target, WM still hosts the Salvation Army bellringers.